Advocates Call On New York City To Remove People From Rikers Island As City Council Convenes On Crisis
For hours Wednesday, the crisis on Rikers Island took center stage, as City Council members heard testimony and questioned stakeholders.
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For hours Wednesday, the crisis on Rikers Island took center stage, as City Council members heard testimony and questioned stakeholders.
City lawmakers visited the jail Monday, describing scenes of violence, health hazards and deteriorating conditions.
Concerns have reached a tipping point following a 10th detainee recently found dead, reports of increased violence against staff, and one-third of the staff calling out sick.
The jail population has ballooned and many correction officers have stopped showing up for work.
The DOC says widespread sick calls from employees, some of whom are believed to be abusing their unlimited sick days, are creating a dangerous situation.
City numbers show assaults on staff at Rikers are up almost 25%.
The City Council voted to close Rikers Island and replace the complex with four smaller jails in 2019. Kew Gardens was selected for the Queens site, and construction started this June.
The suspect in the recent attack on an Asian woman in Chinatown was no stranger to law enforcement. Alexander Wright's history of arrests is raising questions about what went wrong.
In state Supreme Court, the family of Ryan Wilson had to hear the details of his suicide at the complex last November, a death the family says could have been avoided.
Christopher Buggs, 26, was let out on March 8 due to a clerical error. He had been locked up and awaiting trial on murder and weapons charges since 2018.
The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association says members of a gang are responsible for the attacks.
Meekins, 22, was initially arrested on March 10 in connection to an attempted murder in May 2018.
Meekins, 22, was let out after a Bronx court clerk mistakenly marked him for release without bail.
Police are still trying to track down Buggs and bring him back into custody.
Buggs was charged with killing a 55-year-old man in 2018 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
They say guards left the 19-year-old hanging for seven minutes before coming to his aid.
The female officer was attacked Thursday morning.
The facilities currently house about 750 people combined.
The mayor's $8 billion plan to close Rikers is incumbent upon replacing Rikers with a jail in every borough except Staten Island.
Sources say the victim had just left a party when he was gunned down.
"We have to go farther. So let's take the next step. Let's end solitary confinement altogether," he said.
Seventeen corrections officers in New York City will face disciplinary action in connection with the death of a 27-year-old transgender woman who died at Rikers Island in 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday. Three officers and one captain will be suspended without pay.
A Rikers Island inmate is back in custody after officials said he attempted a second escape in the past week.
An inmate escaped from Rikers Island on Thursday, but was captured in the water by two correction officers who jumped in after him.
Rikers Island and other local jails have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus outbreak.
Local and state officials say they will raise the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after park staff took it down. National Park Service officials said it was removed under guidance from the Trump administration.
The short-handed Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 115-110 on Wednesday night.
Jose Alvarado scored a season-high 26 points and Mikal Bridges added 22 points as the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 138-89 Wednesday night.
One teenager was killed and two were hurt in a shooting in the Bronx on Wednesday.
It has been a brutal viral season, but as RSV cases surged in New York, Northwell Health doctors say infant hospitalizations remained down, thanks to a fairly new vaccine.
Local and state officials say they will raise the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after park staff took it down. National Park Service officials said it was removed under guidance from the Trump administration.
One teenager was killed and two were hurt in a shooting in the Bronx on Wednesday.
It has been a brutal viral season, but as RSV cases surged in New York, Northwell Health doctors say infant hospitalizations remained down, thanks to a fairly new vaccine.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is seeking Albany lawmaker approval for his agenda, including an increase on taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and businesses.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman accepted the Republican Party's nomination for New York governor on Wednesday at the GOP convention in Garden City.
New Yorkers felt much better on Tuesday as a warm front moved toward the region. But, snow and ice could make for a potentially dangerous evening.
A Cold Weather Advisory is in place through 10 a.m. on Monday for the entire Tri-State Area. As a result, a First Alert Weather Day will be in play for at least part of the day.
A Connecticut man was arrested after allegedly driving drunk in the Bronx and hitting pedestrians on a sidewalk Friday.
Parts of New York and Connecticut could see snow Friday into Saturday. A First Alert Weather Day is in effect for the weekend due to dangerously cold temperatures.
Bundle up — New York City and the Tri-State Area's stretch of dangerously cold weather continues, and it's sticking around longer than anyone would like.
A public meeting was held on Tuesday night in Morris County, New Jersey, after shots were fired earlier in the day in Roxbury Townshp during an ICE operation.
President Trump pulling funding from the Gateway Tunnel project has led to backlash from New York and New Jersey elected officials.
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski has conceded the New Jersey special election to fill Gov. Mikie Sherrill's congressional seat.
A home on Roosevelt Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, went up in flames on Tuesday morning as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
New Yorkers felt much better on Tuesday as a warm front moved toward the region. But, snow and ice could make for a potentially dangerous evening.
It has been a brutal viral season, but as RSV cases surged in New York, Northwell Health doctors say infant hospitalizations remained down, thanks to a fairly new vaccine.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman accepted the Republican Party's nomination for New York governor on Wednesday at the GOP convention in Garden City.
An arrest has been made in the 2021 acid attack on Long Island college student Nafiah Ikram. Prosecutors said Terell Campbell had numerous incriminating and shocking web searches and rapped about burning someone with acid.
New Yorkers felt much better on Tuesday as a warm front moved toward the region. But, snow and ice could make for a potentially dangerous evening.
Adelphi University student Orion Newby was celebrating on Monday after a court found that he didn't use artificial intelligence to cheat on a paper.
Local and state officials say they will raise the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after park staff took it down. National Park Service officials said it was removed under guidance from the Trump administration.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is seeking Albany lawmaker approval for his agenda, including an increase on taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and businesses.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman accepted the Republican Party's nomination for New York governor on Wednesday at the GOP convention in Garden City.
Seven more New Yorkers were confirmed to have died primarily from hypothermia since Jan. 19, officials said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced new proposals Wednesday to bring down the cost of car insurance and crack down on insurance fraud.
The longest and largest nurses strike in New York City history is set to end after over three weeks as NYSNA says it has a tentative agreement.
Mount Sinai Health System and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield failed to reach a contract agreement by Dec. 31, which means about 9,000 physicians are no longer considered in-network.
Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery is set to become the first on the East Coast to offer human composting.
The goal is to get patients drunk and high at a new research lab on the border of Nassau County and Queens.
The Patchogue-Medford School District said in a letter that the Suffolk County Department of Health alerted them about an infectious person in the school community.
"Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues" star James Van Der Beek has died at 48 years old.
New York City Department of Environmental Protection said there was a "significant reduction in water usage" throughout the Big Apple during his show. That changed as soon as his performance ended.
Catherine O'Hara, known for her roles in "Home Alone," "Schitt's Creek" and "Beetlejuice," died on Jan. 30 at the age of 71.
LUAR Creative Director Raul López says Lady Gaga's salsa-inspired dress in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show was a moment of pride for Caribbeans and Latinos.
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is one of the most-streamed artists on the planet.
The short-handed Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 115-110 on Wednesday night.
Jose Alvarado scored a season-high 26 points and Mikal Bridges added 22 points as the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 138-89 Wednesday night.
Pascal Siakam scored 30 points and the Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak by holding off the Knicks with a 137-134 overtime victory on Tuesday night.
Nic Claxton scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Nets to a 123-113 win over the Bulls on Monday night.
Zuby Ejiofor scored six of his 25 points in overtime and No. 17 St. John's outlasted pesky Xavier 87-82 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Edward R. Murrow High School's new boiler system cuts emissions while doubling as a hands-on sustainability lesson for students.
LUAR Creative Director Raul López says Lady Gaga's salsa-inspired dress in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show was a moment of pride for Caribbeans and Latinos.
After their building managers were arrested on fraud charges, tenants in Queens say their apartments were left in chaos.
Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture centennial anniversary began last year, and 2026 marks 100 years since the library became owner of its namesake's personal collection, making it a full-fledged research center.
Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery is set to become the first on the East Coast to offer human composting.
The Halloween tradition strolled through Manhattan's East Village on Sunday, with furry friends dressed in colorful costumes.
A suspect was taken into custody after an attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1 in which there were 15 people and a dog who were victims. The suspect threw Molotov cocktails that burned some of the victims, who were part of a march for Israeli hostages.
A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.
Dogs got decked out for the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York City's East Village on Saturday.
Cosplayers flooded New York City's Javits Center in October 2024 for the annual New York Comic Con convention.
The automaker issues a "do not drive" order for thousands of vehicles with defective Takata air bags.
A federal judge rules the Trump administration needs to unfreeze more than $16 billion earmarked for the project on Thursday unless an appeals court allows the government to continue withholding the money.
Former city comptroller Brad Lander was arrested during a sit-in in Lower Manhattan. He said he's charged with unreasonably obstructing the usual use of the property.
A glove found by the side of the road was picked up by authorities in an FBI search area a mile and a half from Nancy Guthrie's home. The search has stretched into day 12.
Flames broke out just before 1 a.m. at a two-story home on Oak Avenue in Hempstead and burned it to the ground. Officials said a firefighter was treated for a hand injury.
